Intelligence of Dogs

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Aug 30, 1883

Intelligence of Dogs.

The subject of the intelligence of brutes is one of endless study and interest. The San Francisco correspondent of the Mendocino Beacon tells the following of the dogs in that city:—

“One of the features of our every-day life is the pound man. Each day he rides about the streets upon his coops, with several assistants, all armed with lassoes. As the monthly average numbers some 400, it shows where we should be if some such steps were not taken to get rid of the vagrants. Dogs licensed are of course exempt, and their instinct in this matter is remarkable. A dog without a collar seems to have a mortal terror of the wagon and apparently scents the danger at once. It is said some dogs know the day the pound man is due and will not go out of the yard. Walking down Mission Street this week I saw him catch four dogs within a dozen blocks. One saw the wagon nearly half a block away, and in terror ran into a place. Of course he was cornered at once, lassoed, and deftly swung into the coop. If ever there was a frightened dog it was that poor pup. Another was lassoed while walking by his owner. The dog cried pitifully. There can be no denying they know the danger. The owner was a mad man. If you want to see a real mad man or woman just see the pound man rope in their dog. To hear them threaten and rave you would think the entire United States army was at their disposal. The only way to get your dog back is to pay $2.50 for him besides the license fee. No tears or threats will do. The pound man is used to that. And all this while a good looking dog with a collar looked idly on, sniffed about, and appeared quite unconcerned, and I saw several blessed with license tags run after the cart and give a little contemptuous bark. But a collarless dog would skip every time.”